Despite what can only be called an ugly win, it was good to be back in the stands watching our Eels play. My family and I have been unable to attend games over the past few weeks due to personal reasons and though our Eels are having a tough year with their highly inconsistent footy, I did miss attending games in person.
It’s funny how context impacts the way that you look at a game. If we were in contention for finals footy my view on Sunday’s game would probably have been that we found a way to win and we move on. Alas we are not in contention for finals so my view from the stands was a little more pragmatic.
Unfortunately my take away from Sunday’s game was this; while we won I saw the same things that we have seen all before, and until we either find a way to address these issues or move players on who cannot fix their own basic errors, we will not dramatically improve our position on the ladder next year.
Most would say, or at least the Parra fans I converse with, that our biggest issue tends to be players losing concentration and making basic errors, mostly with the ball but sometimes in defence without much pressure being applied.
So rather than look for excuses for players, let’s begin by offering praise for a player who has not just improved at Parra this season, he’s found a level of consistency that others should aspire to.
Before he arrived at the Eels, BK was a player regarded as “rocks and diamonds”. Incredibly talented but with shortcomings. But the lesson is that you can work on flaws in your game, and Kelly is the epitome of this.
Brian Kelly
Over the course of this year he has dramatically improved his ball security and defensive reads. He is not perfect, no player is, but he obviously recognised a flaw and has worked on fixing that flaw.
Alongside Jack Williams, he’s a contender for the Ken Thornett Medal. Brian Kelly has also earned the admiration of Eels fans for his work in yardage, his ability to finish tries and his reliability.
And now to others.
After 50 rounds or so under the coaching of Jason Ryles, we need to raise the bar of our expectations, and perhaps the players need to follow Brian Kelly’s lead.
While I acknowledge we have had injuries, I would think that every player, injured or not, will be in and around game reviews and team preparation, just as BK and Jack Williams have.
Jack Williams
Jason Ryles is not coaching our boys to drop the ball in basic hit ups or tackle as if they are playing touch football. I have no doubt that our players are well prepared with game plans and the like. But at some point players must be held to account for making basic errors.
Just as the club set a line in the sand this week over malicious rumours, a line in the sand is needed for match performances. First grade is not the place for accepting repeated basic errors.
While rule changes have had their impact, at its core rugby league still remains a fairly straight forward game. If you repeatedly turn the ball over cheaply you will almost always lose. The fact that the Tigers could not beat us last Sunday says more about them than us.
It’s more than a bad day at the office for players to have 2-3 drops in them each game or to be ‘relied’ upon to have 5-6 missed tackles.
I looked on in admiration at the Panthers last week. Obviously as a Parra fan I have an interest in Blaize Talagi and want him to be successful. He is undoubtedly a player of immense talent and I wish he was still with our club.
However, over the past few weeks his defensive reads and execution have impacted his team’s defensive plan. Ivan clearly did not drop him straight away but obviously he decided to draw a line in the sand last week and replace him. Even when his replacement in Cogger remained in Australia this week rather than travelling to New Zealand, Cleary remained firm in not using Talagi.
Blaize Talagi
Importantly, the depth in the squad must be there for such calls to be made. But the coaching staff and players must all be on the same page about upholding that line in the sand.
So, though one player like Brian Kelly can be the role model for improving and maintaining standards of performance, from my perspective in the stands, the solution to our current predicament does not rest with one person but rather the collective.
The time to act is this season.
Because whilst Parra’s roster needs improvement for next year, without the playing group as a whole driving their own expectations about standards of performance, and being accountable for it, the club remains at risk of facing similar issues in 2027 and beyond.
Parra Proud
Shelley
Nice read Shelley. I too think Ryles should not be held to blame. It is hard to drop players though when the depth is so poor and the performance of our cup players is bordering on both depressing and comical depending on how you view life.
Our squad is essentially of cup strength although watching the game last week I would wager there are a few cup teams who would beat us as well.
We only seem recruit bargain buy players and many would say “oh we can’t blow our salary cap and pay overs for someone.” The reality though is we are spending the same amount of money u der the salary cap as other teams and our squad is full of below average players to put it kindly so we are in fact paying overs. The main difference is we are paying overs to cup players masquerading ar NRL players.
Change has to come from the top but it looks like next year will be another battle to avoid the spoon as our recruitment team sits in their office playing solitaire or whatever it is the hell they do all day with no accountability whatsoever.